How To Be A Morning Person

With the first post of May falling on a Monday, I thought it would be a good idea to make it a lifestyle one. There are so many things I want to try and incorporate into my lifestyle this month, as well as things that I want to keep as a habit. I often find that there’s something so difficult about getting out of our warm, cozy duvets every morning, but I’ve found that there are definitely several things you can do to set yourself up to be an early riser. Then, after a few days, you’ll be doing it all the time because it will become part of your routine. That’s the key word in all of this – routine. It’s been said so many times but it’s true. The minute you establish something as part of a routine, it becomes second nature and you start doing it automatically. It usually takes around three weeks of hard work before you get used to something, whether it be cleaning up your diet, working out more often or waking up earlier. All three of these are good things, but today’s post is going to focus on the third, with ways that I’ve trained myself to get up and get to work without feeling too miserable about it.

1. Prep the night before.

I always like to fill the kettle, then take out a mug, teaspoon, my preferred coffee and a piece of fruit to put on the counter top. This sets up my breakfast nicely and so I need to do very little in the morning. If I’m having a smoothie in the morning, then I’ll take out my Nutribullet too and freeze a banana the night before (recipe here). I’ll also tidy up my desk and take out the things that I will need for the first few tasks of the morning. I’m at university doing revision at the moment, so I’ll usually prep by taking out a folder full of notes for the module I want to look at in the morning and open it on the pages I will need. A to-do list also helps, I sometimes do these the night before, or I’ll do them in the morning depending on how much there is to do that day.

2. Go to sleep a little earlier.

This is one where I actually need to start taking my own advice. I have a terrible habit of not being able to sleep until late so I’m hoping that by writing this down, it will motivate me to change this. I think a good bed time would be around 10pm, where there’s the chance to get enough sleep and rise in the morning naturally, without feeling sluggish or low on energy. There are definitely ways you can wind down and things you can do to help yourself seep earlier. I’m going to try a few of them this month and test out what works best for me. Let me know if you’d like to see a post on this!

3. Have something to look forward to.

Writing a to-do list sort of goes hand in hand with this one. Make sure that you have at least one thing that you’re excited about during the day. It could be an actual task, a place you’re visiting or even a meal you’re excited to cook and eat. If you have at least that one thing that you’re looking forward to, then getting up doesn’t seem so hard. It could just be as simple as getting one step closer to your goal – but that in itself becomes a motivation to get up early and work hard. Or, you could choose to make space for some ‘me-time’, where you spend time doing something that you love. That way, you’ll actually enjoy getting up in the morning, even when your bed is telling you otherwise! I love applying a little makeup in the morning, that’s some ‘me-time’ where I can put on the radio, sip at my coffee and apply some new products.

4. Energize.

This can be done in several ways, but energizing for the day is so important. It gets rid of that sluggish, half asleep feeling when your alarm first goes off and the quicker you can energize, the quicker you can wake up and start enjoying your day. Some people fit in a workout in the morning. I admire those people (this is something I would seriously struggle to do). Getting in a run every morning can boost your mood and help the rest of the day go smoothly no matter what life throws at you. Another way to energize would be with a tall glass of cold water every morning. This is something which I do without fail as it keeps me hydrated (all those hours of sleep mean I often wake up thirsty) and gives me a boost, especially when it’s cold. I follow this up with a filling breakfast and a mug of coffee for a caffeine kick. Caffeine isn’t healthy in excess, but I like at least one coffee a day and I prefer to have mine in the morning for a bit of energy.

5. Take it slow.

Remember, if you’re used to getting up ten minutes before you have to leave the house, it can be hard to suddenly start getting up early. My best advice would be to take it slow, and start setting your alarm a little earlier in fifteen minute increments. This will ease you into having more and more time in the morning without putting you in a grumpy mood through lack of sleep and forcing a sudden change on your body clock. What you will notice is how much better your mood will get after a couple of weeks – the shift is painful at first but it’s well worth it!